An optical module is an integrated module that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal and/or converts an electrical signal into an optical signal. The optical module is generally mounted and applied on a printed circuit board, and plays an important role in a process of optical fiber communication in the communications field.
The optical module includes an optoelectronic device, a functional circuit, and an optical interface, where the optoelectronic device and the functional circuit are used collaboratively to complete conversion between optical and electrical signals; and the optical interface is generally fixed on an end face of a face plate of the printed circuit board, and is configured to connect to an optical fiber. However, in a work process of the optical module, the optical module generates a large amount of heat, and a laser that is of the optical module and used to generate or receive an optical signal has a relatively strict requirement on a temperature. Therefore, to ensure that optical communication is performed normally, the heat generated by the optical module needs to be dissipated in time. The laser in the optical module is a major power consumption device in the optical module, and in particular, a laser for generating an optical signal, that is, an optical signal transmit laser, generates the largest amount of heat.
In the prior art, a manner that multiple optical modules are disposed on a same plane is adopted, and heat is dissipated by using a heat sink. When the multiple optical modules are disposed on a same plane on the printed circuit board, heat generated by the optical modules passes from an upper end to a lower end, causing a phenomenon of heat accumulation, which is easy to cause an optical module at the lower end to be severely damaged due to an excessively high temperature in a work environment. A manner adopted in the prior art is that all optical modules are covered by the heat sink, and the heat sink makes temperatures of the optical modules even and equal, which diminishes the phenomenon of the heat accumulation, thereby achieving a heat dissipation effect for the optical modules. However, in this manner, the phenomenon of the heat accumulation still exists, and the heat dissipation effect for the optical modules is not desirable, which makes the optical modules easy to be damaged.